


Time to Learn about Time!

by thebatjokesonyou



Category: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (Webseries)
Genre: Brainwashing, DHMIS, Doi the Very Good Boy, F/M, How many different ways can I say there's hypnosis in it?, Hypnosis, Hypnotism, Maybe I'll write more? Maybe?, Mind Control, One Shot, Padlock, Roleplay turned Fanfic, Some mentioned padlock because awww, There needs to be more DHMiS stuff, tony the talking clock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 11:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15484677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebatjokesonyou/pseuds/thebatjokesonyou
Summary: Poor Doi's hiding away from the teachers again when Tony finds him in his closet space. Tony realizes that perhaps forcing his student to learn isn't working and decides to take a different approach...





	Time to Learn about Time!

**Author's Note:**

> WHAT?! A DON'T HUG ME I'M SCARED FANFIC FROM ME THAT DOESN'T HAVE A SINGLE GAY PAIRING IN IT?! GASP! 
> 
> This is actually a roleplay my bud and I did awhile ago! She's Doi and I'm Tony, just in case you were wondering. She's also the only person I've done a DHMiS RP with, which is kind of sucky but we have a lot of fun. We tend to do plenty of hypno stuff together//
> 
> Names for clarification!  
> Harry - Red Guy  
> Robin - Duck Guy  
> Doi - Yellow Guy  
> Sketch - Creative Teacher  
> Tony - Time Teacher  
> Shrignold - Love Teacher  
> Collin - Technology Teacher  
> Stacey - Spinach Can (Health Teacher)  
> Stanley - Meat Man (Health Teacher)  
> Larry - Dream Teacher

A small, dark, crowded cabinet, littered with all sorts of boxed snacks and canned goods, lit only by a small, battery-powered nightlight that had been brought in by the child sitting beside it. Normally, an uncomfortably cramped space like this would be the last spot Doi would take refuge in, but recent events had led the child to take some drastic measures when coming up with a hiding spot good enough to hide from the other members of this crowded household.

He didn’t know why, but all of the teachers had started to go absolutely crazy around each other, everybody fighting with each other about whose turn it was to teach the child their many strange lessons they had prepared. Today was Tuesday, which meant that Tony would be the one to claim that it was his turn to teach Doi a lesson. Needless to say, the whole situation had Doi on edge, which was why the child had decided to hide in one of the lower cabinets of the kitchen, the one that was built into the corner of the room. It was hard to get into if you were bigger than himself, which ruled out the possibility of the bigger teachers finding him.

Doi sighed glumly, his back resting against the wooden wall of the cabinet as he played with the small toy car in his hands, the green plastic glinting in the single, tiny light that had been brought inside, unaware and uncaring if anybody was looking. 

Tony had turned the house just about upside down looking for the boy and at this point, he was tempted to give up. But the thought of having someone who genuinely believed him (the other two never seemed convinced, no matter what he tried. They'd reject his lessons right afterwards but Doi always seemed to be doubtful of what he'd been taught by others.) listening to his lesson motivated him into continuing his search. "Doi?! Doi! Come now, we're wasting time! It's time to learn about time!" He called as loudly as he could.

Sketch, who was sitting on the couch and painting on an easel, looked up at him with a smile. She was the only one willing to help him, seeing as she'd managed to snag Doi yesterday. And she kept in mind that would be more satisfying to snag the boy during his lesson. "Have you checked the cabinet? He was in there yesterday." 

Tony blinked several times at her, somewhat suspicious but too desperate to not consider it. "No, I haven't. But..." He ran over to it as quickly as he could, hating that they'd already wasted so much of the day. "Doi!" He knocked on it, adjusting his bow-tie. "Are you in here?!" 

Doi tensed as Tony knocked on the door of the cabinet, the child quickly turning off the nightlight with the softest of clicks. He then put his hands over mouth, holding his breath so he wouldn’t get caught. 

Tony knocked again, hearing someone putting put a hand to a mouth and opened it, carefully peering inside. "Doi?" 

The light shining into the cabinet revealed Doi hiding behind a few dozen boxes of different foods, the child letting out a frightened squeak at the sight of the clock. 

"What are you doing? Why are you wasting time in here?" Tony moved the boxes. "We should get started on the lessons."

“B-But I don’t wanna!” Doi quickly exclaimed, pouting as he moved further into the darkened cabinet, away from the object in front of him. “Leave me alone!” 

"Oh, Doi, come now! It's just one lesson." Tony reminded him, crawling in with a huff. "It won't take too long. Just at least a million seconds!"

“No!” Doi whined, pressing his back against the wooden wall of the cabinet as he frantically started to shout several different excuses at the other. “I-I don’t want another time lesson! I already know about time!” 

"Then tell me exactly what you know." Tony sat on his knees, crossing his arms as he watched the other squirm. "If you know so much, you should be able to recite it."

“I-It’s a tool! And you can uh, um... Wear it? And uh, something about walls...?” Doi tried timidly, his explanation of what he remembered far less than satisfactory. But instead of admiring that he couldn’t really remember what he had learned, the child simply tried to play it off like he knew what he was talking about. “S-See? I know about it!”

Tony stared unamused at the boy, reciting his own lesson in a dull, slow voice to try and spark his memory. "Time is a tool. You put on the wall. Or wear it. On. Your. Wrist. The past is far behind us. And the future. Doesn't. Exist. That's not too hard to remember, is it?"

“Um...” Doi frowned up at Tony in complete confusion, which only made it more obvious that he had no idea what the clock was talking about. “I, uh... I guess so??” 

"Oh, for the love of-" Tony pinched the non existent bridge of his nose before he took Doi's hand, trying to take him out. "Come on! We can even do just a 15 minute long lesson, no extra seconds included! We need to make you learn!"

“Wha- N-No!” Doi yelped, yanking His hand away from Tony, frantically trying to move to another part of the cabinet so the clock couldn’t get to him. “I don’t wanna!” 

"Ugh, if you come out I'll-I'll-" Tony stuttered off as he tried to give motivation. Have some pizzer? He didn't feel like sharing. Give a hug? No thank you. "Show you a trick!"

Doi paused at that, the child tilting his head curiously. “A trick?” He murmured, somewhat intrigued. “What kind of trick??”

"A clock trick. With Tiny Tony." Tony explained, thinking on his feet. Perhaps revealing what he'd done to the boy before wasn't the best idea but he'd run out of options. 

“A clock trick?” Doi repeated, crawling a little closer to Tony. “What is it? I-It’s not something from the lesson, is it??” 

"No, no." Tony reached out behind him, pulling out the smaller clock from his battery panel and showing him to Doi. "This isn't really from the lesson."

Doi let out a happy sound, looking at the tiny clock with wide eyes. “Ooo! It’s a mini you!” He chirped, pointing at Tiny Tony with a pleased squeal.

Tony glanced away and the Tiny Tony looked flat out embarrassed, blush and all. "He's um...I keep him hidden away so nothing happens to him. But yes, he likes to do little tricks every once in awhile." 

“He’s so cute!” Doi squealed, reaching out to try and poke the little clock. “Aww, he even has your grumpy face!” 

Tony looked over at Doi with an offended frown and Tiny Tony gave him a glare and pout, as if his feelings were also hurt. "What's that supposed to mean??"

“Look!” Doi chirped innocently as he pointed at Tiny Tony, not understanding that he may have hurt their feelings. “See? The grumpy face! The one that Sketch says makes you look cute!”

Immediately, Tony's eyes widened and he was about to say something but the Tiny Tony's face went red and a little squeak of bashful ness came from him. "You shouldn't mention Sketch around him! You'll get him too worked up!"

“Oops.” Doi murmured sheepishly, his little hands reaching up and covering his mouth as he flushed brightly in embarrassment. “S-Sorry...”

"It's alright. Now come on out so you can see the trick thing." Tony started to crawl backwards, holding Tiny Tony carefully. 

Doi nodded, his eyes shining as he eagerly crawled after the object, wanting to see whatever this trick was. He climbed out of the cabinet carefully, practically bouncing in excitement. “Can I see the trick now??”

Tony picked up Tiny Tony so it was right in front his face, dangling his companion carefully. "Alright. But you have to watch the clock and do whatever I tell you to do to make the trick work!" 

“How come??” Doi asked curiously as he sat up, situating himself so he was staring intently at Tiny Tony.

"It won't work without your help." Tony explained, Tiny Tony nodding in agreement. "You have to participate or you won't be able to see the cool trick. Understand?"

“Oh, okay! I can do that.” Doi hummed, wiggling around in his seat with an affirmative nod, now completely determined to see whatever this trick was. 

"Good, good." Tony murmured approvingly before he began to slowly tilt the pocketwatch back and forth. "Now, keep your eyes on the watch. Don't look away, don't let yourself think of anything but the watch. Just stare at it." 

Tiny Tony had a blank, calm expression as he was rocked to and fro, as if he was bored. Unsurprisingly, it helped give the whole thing a very tired, sleepy feeling. 

“Stare at it?” Doi repeated quietly, raising his eyebrows quizzically as his gaze followed the watch and its swinging, steady beat. “Hmm, I can do that...”

"You have to look further to see it's hidden message, each swing bringing a sweet soothing presage, don't think about anything else while you watch, watching my watch without any botch." Tony soothed, stroking his hair back. 

Doi kept an attentive gaze on the watch in front of him, absently listening to Tony and his careful rhymes. “Mmm... hidden message?” The child hummed curiously, tilting his head into the gentle pats on his head.

"Something you have to look longer to see, something you couldn't possibly foresee~" Tony offered, adding a little lilt to bring some promise, some temptation to his offer. 

Doi’s expression turned into a sleepy pout, the child narrowing his gaze a little as he continued to watch the watch swing from side to side, side to side. “I wanna see it...”

"You'll have to look closer, let the watch become clearer, stay fixated on every swing, forget everything, and just watch the watch." Tony carefully instructed with the blur of blues and reds and yellows from the quickly swinging watch right in Doi's face. 

Doi blinked slowly, then nodded, keeping his gaze focused on the glimmering trinket in front of him. “Watch the...watch...” He echoed softly, his whole focus on finding that hidden message in the gentle swinging of the watch.

"Shhh, just fall deeply under for me~" Tony rubbed small circles into his scalp, hoping the stimulation was soothing for him. "Can you see it yet, Doi?" 

“I dunno...” Doi murmured with a soft yawn, eyes fluttering. He absently tilted his head into the gentle rubbing motions, finding them comforting in his dazed state of mind. 

"Do you feel sleepy?" Tony asked again in a whisper, strangely satisfied from watching Doi go under from his power. "Do you want some rest?"

"Mmm... I’m feeling a little sleepy...” Doi admitted, his gaze still lazily watching the glimmering trinket as it shone in the light. “But... but I wanna see the trick...” 

"You do? I can show you some pretty colors~" Tony offered, keeping Tiny Tony in that gentle, swaying motion. "Would you like to see?"

“Mhm...” Doi hummed with a lazy little nod, his head bobbing up and down awkwardly. “Wanna see...” He slurred, losing more and more of his grip on reality.

Tony kept Doi's head steady, using the gloved hand already there to have a gentle grip on the back of his head. "Alright then, if you want them, just repeat after me." 

Suddenly, both of Tiny Tony's pupils were engulfed by a pattern of colors, repeating over and over again. 

"Time is a tool you can put on the wall, 

Or wear it on your wrist.

The past is far behind us

And the future doesn't exist." 

Doi's eyes widened as his gaze was met with echoing patterns of deep blues, brilliant reds, and bright yellows, the child instantly caught up in the gorgeous display. Since he had already been lowered into a trance from the watch, the child’s eyes almost immediately started to fill with echoes of the pulsing spirals, showing his swift decent into a much deeper trance. 

“T-Time is a tool you can put on the wall, 

Or wear it on your... on your...” 

Doi started to softly repeat, before the colors caused him to lose track of what he was saying.

"Wrist." Tony finished for him. "The past is faaaaar behind us..." He decided to go slower, seeing the boy struggle with all those colors. The watch swung slower as well, his voice steady as he kept an eye on Doi.

Doi’s eyes fluttered as he continued to stare at the colors as they slowed down, the slower pace of the watch helping him to focus on what Tony was saying. “Mmm... the past is... faaaar behind us...~”

"And the future. Doesn't. Exist." Tony continued, a smirk on his face as he watched him take it all in. He knew could have him recite the whole thing, if he wanted to. That could wait for another moment but Tony was sure it would occur. 

"And the future... doesn’t exist...~” Doi finished, a dazed little smile spreading across his face as he giggled absently, his gaze still following the gentle swinging of the picket watch.

"Don't repeat anymore right now, Doi." Tony pat his head again. "But you've had so much fun learning about time. You love learning from me, you love doing whatever I want you to do. It's very enjoyable." The clock hummed, wanting Doi to finally enjoy his lessons. 

“Don’t repeat... oh.” Doi murmured, stopping himself from repeating the whole sentence when he realized what the object meant. He hummed softly, enjoying the gentle pats on his head as he listened carefully to what Tony had to say. “Mmm, yeah... fun learning...” He parroted, giggling softly.

"When I snap my fingers, you'll remember everything you had to repeat but awaken from the trance I put you in. No more colors until it's time to learn again. Do you understand?" Tony didn't really want to wake him up but he was bound to get caught in the kitchen and he wanted to see the effect his current instructions would have on the boy.

Doi thought for a moment before he slowly nodded with an awkward bobbing motion, showing that he understood. “Mhm... I understand...”

"Good. Now, 1, 2, 3-" Tony cut himself off with a hard snap and Tiny Tony ceased his colors, looking dizzy for a moment before he blinked it off and smiled with unadulterated pride and glee. 

Doi sat there for a moment, the colors pulsing through his eyes, before the child blinked them away, shaking his head as he woke up from the trance, one hand reaching up and resting on the side of his head. “Wh-Whoa...”

"Are you alright?" Tony asked, reaching a hand out in a bit of concern as he didn't know if the boy was dizzy or not. He hadn't hypnotized someone for some time and he was a tad concerned that he'd done something wrong. But only a tad bit. 

“Um, yeah! I’m okay.” Doi hummed, looking up at Tony with an eager smile. It was a very drastic change from the nervousness he had shown previously. “That trick was really cool! What was it??”

"Hypnotism." Tony answered simply. It was a cryptic, mysterious sort of answer and it made Tony feel as if he was much more cool than he really was. "Have you ever seen anything like it before?"

Doi shook his head. “No, I don’t think I have.” He answered honestly. “How’s it work? Is it something that only clocks can do??”

"Well, anyone can learn how to do it, really. But using a clock is best." Tony explained, holding back a snort at the grinning Tiny Tony. It was true but still, they could show some humility.

“It was really cool!” Doi chimed, bouncing in place with a wide grin. “It kinda made me feel like I was floating but I wasn’t actually floating...” His words trailed off as he was in deep thought, trying to make some sense of what had just happened.

"It was pleasant, I can tell. I've put myself under many times and I know a good trance when I see one." Tony assured him, only stopping when he saw the smaller clock pout. "Fine. Tiny Tony's put me under several times and it was with my help." 

The smaller clock made a little huff of approval before looking back at Doi with an excited smile, briefly flashing a few colors at him. 

Doi’s eyes echoed the few colorful spirals, the child reeling a little in the very brief moment of hypnotic influence, a dazed smile spreading across his face. “It feels really nice...” He managed to say in his growing daze. 

Tony covered the little clock's eyes, tsking. "Alright, alright, enough of that for now, you two. Now Doi, can you tell me exactly what I've taught you today?"

Doi blinked away the spirals then perked up, humming as he spoke with clear confidence. “Time is a tool you can put on the wall, or wear it on your wrist.” He hummed, repeating the little song word for word. “The past is far behind us, the future doesn’t exist.”

Tony grinned, patting his head as a reward. "Good, good! I'm glad you've actually managed to retain your lesson for once! See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Doi giggled sweetly, practically brimming with pride as Tony gently patted his head. “Mmm, you’re right. It was actually a whole lot of fun!” He chirped. “I can’t wait until the next lesson!” 

"You don't have to! We could spend the rest of the day like this!" Tony offered, both him and the smaller clock grinning eagerly. With the results of their test having gone perfectly, the both of them were ready to do it once more.

“Really??” Doi gasped, bouncing excitedly. “Th-That sounds super fun! Can we do that? Pretty please??” He put on his best cute face, hoping it would help convince Tony. 

"Why, of course we can! Just follow me to my room!" Tony made a show of pointing to the stairs, motioning Doi to follow him. Tiny Tony bounced gleefully in his hold, spinning a few times to show how thrilled he was.

Doi beamed, cheering excitedly as he stood up from the ground, practically dancing in place as he waited for Tony to lead the way.

Tony nearly skipped to their destination, ignoring the strange looks he got from Sketch and Collin, the both of them having been on the couch. "It's time to learn about time!"

Doi cheered as he followed close behind, which in of itself was an extremely odd behavior for the child. He never followed any of the teachers willingly, so seeing him act like this now was very off putting for the other teachers.

"What the heck?!" Sketch bounced over, giving a double take seeing the yellow child with Tony. When she was sure it was real, she gaped at Doi as if he'd lost his mind. "You're going with him?! Willingly?!"

“Yeah!” Doi chirped, not detecting the strangeness of the situation at all. “He’s gonna give me a fun lesson!!” 

“Who’s going with who willingly?” Robin squawked curiously, peeking his head into the hall from the bedroom he shared with both Harry and Doi. 

Tony wrapped an arm around the boy, looking a tad bit smug while Tiny Tony practically personified the word. "Oh Doi, why don't you show them what you've already learned?"

Doi beamed, nodding as he stood up a little straighter, speaking with a confidence he'd never had before. “Time is a tool you can put on the wall, or wear it on your wrist. The past is far behind us, the future doesn’t exist.” He said with a slight lilting tune to it, repeating the little song he had learned.

Robin’s bill dropped open, the duck staring at the boy as if he had suddenly grown a second head. His brain kept trying to comprehend how in the world Doi, the one out of the trio who was the most terrified of the teachers, could ever learn a full song. 

Sketch was also flabbergasted, staring at Tony and Doi incredulously. "Wh-WHAT?! WHAT THE HECK?! HOW?!" 

"Aww, my star pupil!" Tony beamed, patting his back. "Come now, let's go on ahead and finish your lesson of the day."

Doi grinned proudly, the child giggling as he nodded. “Yeah, let’s go finish the lesson!” He chirped, obviously joyful after he'd shown off his new skills. 

“N-Now, wait a minute-” Robin squawked, trying to intervene, but Doi was already hurrying up the stairs, taking big steps so he went up two of the steps at a time. 

Tony followed behind, turning back to smirk at Collin, Tiny Tony blowing a raspberry as he opened his door for Doi, inviting him inside. 

Collin fumed, his eyes narrowed in a glare. "Bad, bad news! He's cheated! He did something to him! There's no way, it's impossible, I need to find the answer on the internet!" 

Meanwhile, Doi eagerly stepped into the room, clapping his hands with eager energy. "I can't wait! I get to see the colors again and learn even more!"

Tony shut and locked the door, lifting up the already color filled pocket watch. "Are you ready for the next part of your lesson?" 

“Uh-huh!” Doi chirped, grinning brightly as he sat down on the ground. “I’m ready whenever you are!”

Tony held back a darker chuckle, letting his helpful tool do all the hard work. Watching Doi sink back into that perfect state of mind inspired him to think of attempting this on the other students. Perhaps, even his fellow teachers. 'Ah, ah, ah! Keep those thoughts in line, old chap. Let's deal with one thing at a time.' So instead of continuing to dwell on the thought of ruling the house hold, Tony cleared his throat and addressed Doi, happy to teach him the whole song.

**Author's Note:**

> I really need to make an instagram for DHMiS because I'm obsessed with this series and I need to drag other people down with me. I swear to you, I shall convert others into this fandom! I swear!
> 
> If you'd like to commission me for a fic like this or anything else I've written, you can totally contact me through my Instagram @hypnotichetalia or you can just buy me a coffee! (https://ko-fi.com/R5R4JH14#)


End file.
